Around Dodge City and in the territory on west, there is just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers,
and that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
Music
Gun Smoke starring William Conrad, the story of the violence that moved west with young America,
and the story of a man who moved with it.
I'm that man, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal.
The first man they look for and the last they want to meet.
It's a chancey job, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
Music
More coffee, Marshal?
Yes, ma'am, I guess so. How about you, Chester?
Yes, sir, I believe I will.
Why don't you just leave the coffee pot right here on the table, Miss Kelly?
Sure thing, Marshal. I got some fresh eggs this morning if you're interested. They were just brought in.
Fresh eggs? Oh, good. Why don't you cook us up about a half a dozen, huh?
Have them for you right away.
Fresh eggs? I swear, if Delmonico's ain't getting me by as fancy as some of them Kansas City restaurants.
It's civilization, Chester, progress. Another five years and Dodge City will be tamed, curried, and pridal.
See and believe, Mr. Delmon.
You'll see it, we'll both see it. It's how we live that long.
I beg your pardon, gentlemen.
Yeah. You the Marshal here?
That's right.
Well, I'm sorry to bother you at your breakfast, Marshal. My name is Hunter.
Ed Hunter. I'm a deputy sheriff from Richmond, Virginia. Came in on the train this morning.
I see. Won't you pull up a chair, Mr. Hunter?
Oh, thank you, sir. This is my first trip to the front here. I find it a rather remarkable experience.
I imagine. Oh, that's my assistant, Chester Proudfoot.
How are you, sir? Would you like to have some coffee?
Thank you. No, no. Marshal, I've come out here to arrest two men who are wanted in Virginia.
Here are the warrants and the orders of extradition. I stopped off in Topeka for them.
And John Allison, Calvin Moore. Both wanted for murder, huh?
Do you know these men, Mr. Hunter?
No, sir. I don't.
The names aren't familiar to me. I never heard of them.
Well, I have some information that might help. Not much on Allison, I'm afraid.
He shot and killed a bank teller in Greenbrier last spring.
He's about 30 years old, dark hair and mustache, medium build, excellent horseman, confirmed gambler.
Fine. That narrows it down to about two-thirds of the men in Dodge City.
Possibly I do a bit better, in regard to the other man, Calvin Moore.
He came down to Richmond from the north. He was about 33 at the time. He ambushed and shot young Roger Beauregard in left town.
Now, that was 19 years ago. Beauregard family been trying to trace him ever since.
Well, I'm afraid that I haven't.
I have a picture of this Moore. Photograph.
Oh?
Of course, he's much younger than this.
What is it, Marshal? Something familiar about the picture?
Nineteen years.
He'd be somewhere past 50 now.
You sure these men are here in Dodge, Mr. Hunter?
Reasonably so.
Is there something about the photograph?
Well, he was too blurry to tell much about it, and besides, he'd be 19 years older now.
Oh, that's true.
Tell you what, Mr. Hunter, why don't you leave me this picture in the descriptions, and I'll check around town and keep in touch with you.
All right, thank you, sir.
And I wonder, could you suggest a good hotel?
Yeah, why don't you try the Dodge houses, a corner of Railroad Avenue at the east end of the plaza.
Tell Mr. Dobie I sent you.
Thank you again, Marshal. I'm grateful for any help you can give me in this matter.
Sure.
So long.
You want to see the photograph, Chester?
Yes, sir.
Well, Mr. Dillon, that's...
Yeah.
What are you going to do?
I don't know, Chester.
He's my friend.
But now the law says he's a murderer, and I'm part of the law.
Well, maybe it ain't him, Mr. Dillon.
No, it's him, all right, Chester. You saw it the same as I did.
It's dark.
Work, work, work, work.
This is the first chance I've had this week to clean a few instruments properly.
Gunshot wounds.
Mad-eyed lay odds I'm the only doctor in the United States who makes three-fourths of his living off a gunshot wound.
That's a rough country, Doc.
Maybe you ought to have stayed back east, huh?
Broken bones and babies and gunshot wounds.
I wouldn't know the first thing about a good civilized case of gout anymore.
What part of the east did you come from, Doc?
I went to medical school in Boston.
I studied consumption and colic, liver complaints.
Never had a case of liver complaints in all the time I've been out here.
I guess that kind of thing is more common down south around Richmond, Virginia, for instance.
Stop beating around the bush.
You've got something on your mind and it's bothering you.
All right, Doc.
A deputy sheriff from Virginia came in on a morning train.
He's got a warrant for murder against a man named Calvin Moore and a photograph of Moore taken 19 years ago.
Would you like to take a look at it?
I don't think so, Matt.
Are you Calvin Moore?
It was murder, Matt.
They said it was murder, of course.
Would you like to tell me about it?
Not much to tell, Matt.
I'd been in practice in Richmond about a year.
There was a girl.
Oh, she was a beautiful girl with spirit and fire and that soft radiance that only southern girls seem to have.
Oh, me? It was so long ago.
I've been out of south myself, Doc.
Well, Jim Beauregard and I were both courting this girl.
He was a typical Virginia gentleman, hot-headed, used to having his own way.
He started threatening me, warning me, and I laughed it off.
Well, then one day I was coming back from a case and I ran into Jim on a country road.
He had a pair of dueling pistols and he challenged me.
Well, that's not a crime, Doc.
Self-defense is not a crime here, anyway.
I tried to talk him out of it, but he was crazy mad.
He shoved one of the pistols in my hand and pulled back on his horse and leveled his gun.
I had no choice. We both fired.
He missed and I didn't.
Self-defense, yes, but there were no witnesses and I was an outsider, a Yankee.
So you ran for it, is that it?
I ran for it. St. Louis, Virginia City, the Panhandle, Abilene, Dodge.
Yeah.
The girl, Doc.
What happened to the girl?
I waited for her in St. Louis. We were married there.
Two months later she died of typhoid fever.
Yeah.
I can't go back there, Matt. I've got no defense.
It'd mean prison. I'd rot in prison.
I won't go back, Matt.
Hunter is here after two prisoners, Doc.
I've got no right to my own rules.
Go after one man and keep the other one covered.
I always figured the only kind of law that would work out here is an honest law.
What are you going to do?
I don't know, Doc.
I'm going to go to the hospital.
You're late, Matt. I figured you weren't going to stop in tonight.
A chaffed Iran, Kenny.
I'll go over there by the ferro table.
Matt, what about this Virginian who's been hanging around for the last two days?
Oh, Hunter?
Uh-huh.
He's a deputy sheriff. He's got a couple of warrants to serve.
Why?
Oh, he's been asking questions. Some of the boys are a little skittish.
Are you free now, Miss Kitty, or are you busy?
What's it look like?
I figured maybe he's just killing time.
Howdy, Marshal.
Bunko.
I bought you a drink, Kitty. It's over on the bar.
All right. Thanks.
Matt, I'll be off in a couple of hours.
Yeah, maybe.
I understand you've got a rival lawman in town, Marshal.
Well, there's a deputy here from Virginia. If that's what you mean.
I always figured you was in law here.
He's short in this town, Marshal. You say the word, we'll run him out.
I ever ask you for help, Bunko?
Well, no, but...
The man's short and it's our job to run him out.
No offense, Marshal.
That's more...
You keep your own sense tight and don't worry about anybody else, huh?
I'll see you, Bunko.
I swear, Mr. Jones, I ain't ever seen nobody with such bad luck in my whole life.
You ought to swear off a barrel and stick to studs.
Who, Captain?
Just O'Keeher. He just lost three whole weeks' pay.
And Bunko Benson, sitting right there beside of him, mind you, picked up $230.
So that's why he's feeling big.
Let's take a walk, John.
I swear, three weeks' pay. I never seen such luck.
What about Doc?
Oh, he turned in a couple hours ago. That's when I come on over here.
How's he acting?
Oh, by as usual. One thing he is doing, though, that he ain't never done before.
He's toting the gun.
Evening, Marshal.
Oh. Hello, Mr. Hunter.
Since you didn't come to see me, Mr. Dillon, I've come to you.
Wondering what progress you've made.
Well, I'm still checking.
And the results at all, Marshal?
I haven't got much to go on, you know.
Calvin Moore was a doctor by profession. He might still be practicing.
I suggest we investigate local doctors.
Well, that wouldn't take long. We've only got one, Doc Adams.
How old a man is he?
Early fifties, I imagine.
But he doesn't show much resemblance to that photograph he gave me.
Maybe you're too used to him to notice the resemblance.
Yeah, maybe.
I'd like to look him over myself, Marshal.
He's pretty busy.
I don't call most of the time.
But not all of the time.
No, not all of the time, of course.
All right, Mr. Hunter.
Bring him around.
...
Medicare, that's a funny Mr. Jones.
Yeah, he should have answered by now.
...
Well, we're wasting our time, Chester.
Well, he might have got called out on a case.
Well, what was it?
That was across the plaza down toward the Dodge house.
Come on, Chester.
...
I'm sure he's turned up smoke.
That's across the street, ahead to the railroad yard.
...
Is that you, Marshal?
Yeah. What happened, Mr. Hunter?
Somebody tried to kill me.
I started into the hotel, they fired from the dock right here.
I fired back, but he got away.
You got a look at him?
No, I just saw the flashes.
That's an easy time to get killed in the town, Mr. Hunter.
So it seems.
How about that doctor, Marshal? You didn't bring him around.
He's out on a call.
Well, I think I want to meet him more than ever now.
You will.
...
What time is it, Chester?
It's a quarter after two.
I sure do hope we won't have to spend the whole night waiting in here.
I don't see how Doc puts up with us, smell all this medicine and stuff.
He's used to it, I guess.
Well, a man can get used to anything except dying.
...
Mr. Dillon, you reckon it could have been Doc that fired them shots?
Chester.
Hmm?
Somebody coming.
...
Coming.
Doc, I...
Marshal.
Come on in, Bunko.
Well, I...
What's the matter with your arm?
Oh, I got thrown into a barbed wire fence.
Here, let's have a look at it, huh?
No, it's all right.
It's a gunshot wound.
Hold it, both of you.
Oh.
Is that the same gun you tried to kill Hunter with, Bunko?
Stay where you are, Marshal.
Top 30 years old, dark hair, mustache, medium build, excellent horseman, confirmed gambler.
Wanted for murder, John Allison, alias Bunko Benson.
Right, Bunko?
He's not taking me back here.
Stay where you are, Dillon.
Don't be a fool, Bunko, and I'll put away that gun.
Stay back, I'm warning you.
Bunko, look!
What?
...
That worked pretty slick, didn't it, Mr. Dillon?
Thanks, Tutter.
All right, let's get him down to the jail, and you can go find Doc.
We're going to need him.
...
Hola, amigo.
You want to know about stereophonographs?
Listen to my last bullfight on ordinary stereo.
Hola.
Now, Columbia Stereo One.
Ah, there is a corrida de toros.
Real life like, magnifica.
There is such a big difference in stereophonographs.
With most, all you get is a couple of speakers shooting in different directions.
But with Columbia, ah, hombre, you get fantastic stereo projection.
What it does is to send circles of sound sweeping through every inch of a room.
You are surrounded with live sound, live feeling, live passion.
Olé, olé!
How they cheered me.
Ask your Columbia phonograph dealer to demonstrate stereo one by Columbia.
Prices start as low as $39.95 for portables, $1.29.95 for consoles.
El picador, bullet at full out.
...
Now, just hold still now, Bunko.
One more second, now.
Have a hold of that bullet and then, ah, wheel.
Ah!
Yeah.
Ah, ah.
Add that one to your collection, Matt.
I'll make Hunter a present of it.
Wasn't bad shooting to be firing in the dark at a gun flash.
You never give me back to Virginia.
Oh, little Bunko, I expect a man to tie a bandage.
How did you know that he'd come to my office, Matt?
Didn't, Doc.
We were waiting for you.
Oh, I see.
There!
That ought to stop the bleeding.
Don't loosen it up now and you live to hang yet.
Don't worry about my hanging, Doc.
I'll outlive you.
Well, in view of the circumstances, I'd say odds are about even.
Well, Matt, shall we adjourn to the front office?
Yeah, come on.
Okay, lock the cell, Chester.
Yes, I will.
I turned in at ten o'clock tonight, Matt.
I got one hour's sleep.
They called me over to Mrs. Behan.
They thought her baby was on the way.
False alarm, Kurt.
Usually is the first time.
Then I got back and came straight over here.
Doc, you were wearing a gun earlier today.
What did you do with it?
I put it back in the drawer where it belonged.
I realized I was acting like a fool.
Was that why you were waiting in my office?
Somebody tried to kill Hunter and you thought it was me?
I've tried to think of some way out of this.
A way out for both of us, Doc.
But I got one man under arrest back there now.
I can't rightly set myself up as a judge and free the other man.
I'd even hoped you'd cut and run for it.
You'd get away if you did because Hunter doesn't know the country.
No, no, I'm too old to run, Matt.
What are you going to do?
I'm a lawman, Doc.
Right or wrong.
I guess I'm under arrest.
Doc Adams, there you are.
There's a fellow in the railroad who was asleep on the track.
Drunk, I guess, and they went to switch in cars.
You better come, Doc. He's awful bad.
He's sitting at the loading fence down this way, I guess.
Yesterday some lights were there and people standing around.
Marco, is that you?
Yeah, Hunter. I thought you went to bed hours ago.
I'm a light sleeper, Mr. Dillon.
I heard there's an accident over in the yard.
I'll just walk along with you.
I'll give you a chance to meet your local doctor.
I guess you can meet him right now if you want to.
Doc, this is Ed Hunter, Doc Adams.
How do you do, sir?
I got one of your prisoners locked up, Mr. Hunter.
John Allison, known here as Funko Benson.
He's the man who tried to kill you tonight.
One down, then. Just one to go.
Calvin Moore.
Dr. Calvin Moore.
All right, move back, will you, please?
Will you let us through here, please?
Here, Doc.
All right, stand back.
Will you give Doc a chance?
Will you stand back, please?
Please.
Bad is right.
I will do what we can.
That man who's hurt, Marco, who is he?
He's a drifter.
He's been around Dodge a couple of years.
He calls himself Texas Joe.
No friends or family.
Nobody knows where he came from.
It's a usual story.
I'll go and get you.
Be all right.
You guys here.
He certainly has to work under primitive conditions, Doc.
Yeah.
Chester, will you get those lanterns going and give Doc some more light?
Yes, Miss Chester.
Yeah, he's the only real doctor at the site of Abilene.
Is there anything I can do to help, Mr. Dillon?
I guess not, Miss Kelly.
Thanks anyway.
Poor old Texan.
He stopped in at the restaurant not more than four hours ago, and I fixed him a meal.
You never know.
Doc can pull him through if anybody can.
Sure he can.
Put all those lanterns on the other side, Chester.
They seem to put a lot of faith in your Doc, Dad.
They got reason to, Mr. Hunter.
Matt, could you give me a hand here?
Yeah, sure.
Lift his head up a little bit there, will you, Matt?
Yeah.
Not much chance, Matt. All I can do is make him comfortable.
Ah, don't try to talk now, Tex.
He'll be all right.
You've been decent to me, Marshal.
You treated me square.
You and Doc are the only friends I got.
Sure, Tex.
I've got one more favor to ask.
Could someone read me some scripture?
Well, Tex, I just don't recall any of it.
Well, I don't know, Mrs. Kelly.
I doubt if he can hear.
I can hear.
Please.
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul.
I think that's enough, Mrs. Kelly.
Mr. Madden.
Oh, no.
Well, we can't win them all, I guess.
No, we can't win them all.
Well, I guess.
Dr. Adams has only physicians here.
I suppose you also function as colonel.
That's right.
And this man here, he'll be buried under the name of Texas Goat.
Don't worry about it.
Booth Hill is full of men buried under nicknames in this country.
Doc!
Doc, I just came from...
Yeah?
Doc, I've been sitting up with Mrs. Bian.
You left too soon.
She needs you over there right away.
Well, then there wasn't a fault in mine.
All right, Kitty, I'll be there as quick as I can.
Well, as soon as...
Well, Kitty, you go on back over and do what you can for her.
Doc will be along.
All right, Madden.
You better hurry.
Well, Mr. Hunter...
Well, gentlemen, this seems to have been my lucky night.
Both my fugitives located within an hour of each other.
Yeah.
I guess there's nothing I can do to talk to you.
One is safe in jail and one of them dead.
Or didn't you notice the resemblance, Marshal?
Texas Joe here?
Obviously, the man in the photograph.
I saw it immediately.
Well, I hope you'll take all necessary steps to see that he's buried under his real name,
Calvin Moore, and his death, of course.
Close the case.
I'll be leaving for Virginia with my other prisoner tomorrow.
Leave?
Mr. Hunter...
Doctor, I'd say this is no time to stand around here talking.
You have a patient waiting.
This, uh...
This town seems to depend on you.
Matt?
Well, Doc, you've got work to do.
You just make sure it's a boy, huh?
Well, I'll...
You know...
I'll do my darnedest, Matt.
I'll...
Good night, gentlemen.
Good night, Doc.
Gunsmoke.
Produced and directed in Hollywood by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
The story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Les Quetchfield, with editorial supervision by John Messner.
Featured in the cast were Lawrence Dobkin, Harry Bartel, Ralph Moody, and Virginia Christine.
Harley Bear as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc, and Georgia Hawkins as Kitty.
This is George Walsh inviting you to join us again next week when CBS Radio presents another story of the Western frontier.
When Matt Dillon, Chester Bobbitt, Doc, and Kitty, together with all the other hard-living citizens of Dodge, will be with you once more.
It's America growing west in the 1870s. It's Gunsmoke.